Randy went through his mental checklist of things to get done as he drove back to the house from the Clark Construction office the following Monday morning. With over three weeks before he'd head back to college, there wasn't much left on it.

For the last year, he'd had a meeting with his father and grandfather at the end of each semester, mostly to go over what he'd learned. It wasn't an ultimate final examination; it was deeper than that. It was more on the order of getting his brain picked to find out what he'd learned and how it could be applied to the company. Even with all his grandfather Brent's years in the business -- and it was half a century as of last spring -- he knew that he didn't know it all. He'd told Randy earlier that day that a couple suggestions about scheduling from his field operations class last spring had, over the course of the summer, saved the company the cost of his entire college career. Randy had seen the difference out on the sites last summer; there hadn't been much waiting around for concrete trucks, and then having to work overtime to make up for late arrivals, like there had been the summer before.

The family brain-picking had turned into a discussion of what Randy was going to be doing for the company in the spring. It was a slightly delicate thing to do without having feelings hurt somewhere along the line. Given his grandfather's age, there wasn't time for Randy to work his way up through the ranks, but even he knew he was years away from being ready to take over for him -- there was just too much practical experience and local knowledge that he lacked. After some discussion, they'd worked out that he'd be working as an executive assistant to his grandfather once he graduated, trying to take some of the load off of him. In time, more and more would be shifted to him, but at the same time it would be a good place for Randy to work in some of what he'd learned in college.

Although it had taken a while to work out, it was the obvious thing to do. The two previous summers of working on the concrete crew wouldn't be wasted, either. It had given Randy a good picture of the field operations and their problems, and it gave him a chance to get to know a lot of the people he'd be working with -- and gave them a chance to learn that he wasn't just some young smart-ass college punk, but a good worker who'd carry his share of the load and more. In a way, Randy was sorry he wouldn't be out on the concrete crew next summer; he'd enjoyed proving himself on the sites.

Randy wished there were something he could be doing for the company over break, and he'd made the offer -- but really, there wasn't much he could do. Most of the major jobs for the season were completed, the concrete plant had been shut down for the winter, and a lot of people were on winter layoff. There were still some jobs going on, but they were inside work, mostly skilled trades work at that. Even the office pretty much shut down until after the first of the year. There was a lot of preparation to get ready for what looked to be a busy year ahead; already there were three stick-built houses on the books, a new bridge out in Amboy township, and most importantly, a big new addition at the elementary school that had to get done while school was out. Clark Construction would be throwing maximum attention at that through the summer.

Three dull weeks to go. He'd already thrown the idea of a Florida trip at Nicole; she'd been interested in the idea, but hadn't given him a clear-cut answer on it, mostly because she wanted to think about how to run it by her parents. If she decided not to go, he'd pretty well decided to go by himself. But, this afternoon, he felt at loose ends.

Actually, he'd been feeling that way ever since he got home. On his second day back, feeling a little lonely and desperate, he'd gone to the attic where most of Myleigh's books were packed, just . . . well, to sort of touch her memory a little. One of the boxes had been left open, and he'd snagged a book off the top: Great Expectations. He'd started reading it with no great hopes, but had found himself getting into it a little. It wasn't as hard to get through the language as it once would have been, after listening to Myleigh for so long. He thought he'd head home, maybe build a fire in the fireplace, curl up in one of the living room chairs, and fall back a couple hundred years.

He was just coming into the living room with an armload of wood from the garage when the phone went off. He carefully set the wood down in front of the fireplace, then went to answer it. To his surprise, it was Crystal.

"Hi, Randy," she said, "Has Mom called there for me?"

"Not to my knowledge," he replied, settling into an armchair by the phone.

"Good," Crystal said, a dispirited tone in her voice. "Look, I'm with Myleigh, but if she calls, don't tell her that, OK? She's been calling here every hour and we've had to unplug the phone."

"Crystal, is something wrong?" Randy frowned.

"Yeah, Randy, a lot," Crystal told him. "Nothing I didn't expect. Dad no more than walked in the door, and he started getting on my ass about Nanci, so I left and came here."

"God, Crystal, I'm sorry." Somehow, it didn't come as a surprise, though. He'd heard Crystal complaining about it often enough.

"It happened just the way I figured it would," Crystal said bitterly. "Hell, I guess that's why I've been in such a piss lousy mood for months. I guess I knew it was going to happen clear back in January when they came up with Nanci."

"What are you going to do?"

"Pretty much what I planned," Crystal replied. "Except now I don't have to listen to Dad bitch about it. Look, that's why I called. Are you still thinking about going to Florida?"

"Yeah," he said, "But I'm not going to be able to leave until after Christmas."

"It's not going to be much of a Christmas around here," Crystal said sadly. "Myleigh and I have been talking about heading down to Buddha and Giselle's, just to get away from the phone. If you're coming down, is there any way you could bring Myleigh back here?"

Oh, crap, he thought. He wanted to do it, but he'd spent the last four days, on top of the last four months, trying to put the two girls behind him. The offer to take Nicole down to Florida with him after Christmas was a part of it, to try to get things back going with her again. Now, Crystal and Myleigh had come out of the woodwork at him when he thought they were pretty well gone from his life. Yet, it was clear that Crystal needed a friendly face right now. But, if they were going to Buddha and Giselle's, it would be awkward at best if he showed up with Nicole. At least he had warning; it would have been a hell of a surprise if he hadn't known.

"Crystal, I . . . uh . . ." he started. Oh hell, he thought. Might as well be honest. "Look, did you ever meet Nicole? I don't think so. I know Myleigh knows her."

"She's a nice girl," Myleigh said. It was the first indication Randy had that she was on the line. "Crystal, do you remember me telling you about going surfing with Randy and her?"

"Yeah, I remember both of you telling me about her," Crystal replied knowingly.

"Uh, I sorta asked her to go to Buddha and Giselle's with me," Randy admitted sheepishly. "I didn't know if I'd ever see either of you again. It's not a done deal yet, but I don't want her to say yes and then have to back out."

"No, that wouldn't be right," Myleigh told him. "It would be very unfair of you."

"Randy, have you got something going with her?" Crystal asked. "I don't think we'd want to be in the way."

"No, not really," he said. "You remember me talking about her. We had something pretty serious going on back in high school, and I sorta figured on seeing if I could get it going again."

"I can't blame you," Crystal said. "I don't think either of us have enough of a claim on you to expect anything different."

"If I thought either of you did, I wouldn't have bothered with Nicole," he said flatly. "Look, here's the thing. I think she's holding back on going to Florida with me because she's not ready to spend a couple weeks alone with me, at least not yet."

"Then why don't you bring her along?" Myleigh suggested. "She knows me, a little, and mightn't be as uncomfortable with us around. I suspect she and Crystal would get along splendidly."

"Works for me," Crystal said. Randy could tell from the brightness of her voice that she wasn't just saying it.

"It's still a problem," Randy replied. "She knows about you two, but she doesn't exactly know how, uh, close we've been. There'd be plenty of opportunities for one of us to slip up and screw up things royally with her."

"I think that we can manage to be discreet and innocent," Myleigh laughed. "After all, the three of us have had a good deal of practice at it."

"Yeah, sure," Crystal added. "It's not like we're planning an orgy or something."

"I don't know," Randy said, still dubious. "Look, maybe the best thing for me to do is to bounce it off her and get back with you. I can probably let you know this evening, or tomorrow."

"Might be a problem with that," Crystal told him. "We only plugged in the phone to call you, and we're figuring on splitting in the morning."

"Oh, hell." Randy said, then got an idea. "How about if I e-mail you, and you can call me back?"

"That'll work," Myleigh said. "It has been most difficult to lie to Karin."

"OK, I'll try to get back with you later," he told the girls.

Randy hung up the phone and stared at the ceiling for a moment, wishing now that he hadn't brought the idea up with Nicole in the first place. What seemed so simple a few minutes ago was suddenly complicated again. He'd pretty well decided that Crystal and Myleigh were in his past, and he needed to be looking to the future with Nicole. Now, they weren't gone at all, and he knew Crystal needed a friendly face and a shoulder to cry on. Now that the split with her family had occurred, he realized he'd seen it brewing all semester. But in the end, the decision he'd made on the way back from Marquette still stood. If he went to Florida, with Nicole or without, he'd at best have another few days with the girls, and they'd still be gone from his life. He wasn't sure he wanted to involve Nicole. His gut feeling was to say no -- if Nicole said she wanted to go to Florida, go someplace else, and stay away from Buddha and Giselle's. But, damn it all, anyhow.

This wasn't getting him anywhere. After a couple minutes, he got up, went out to the kitchen and opened the drawer where his dad kept his ration of cigarettes. "Greatest aid to concentration ever invented," his dad had once said. Randy smoked maybe a half a pack a year, and maybe now was the time for one. Taking a cigarette and a book of matches, he headed out into the cool of the garage, lit it, and then sat back on a shop stool.

The two surfboards hung from the rafters as the smoke curled into the still, cool air of the garage. It'd be fun to get out with them; he'd looked forward to introducing Nicole to real surf, since it might be something they could share in the future. But damn, this was going to be awkward. He'd had a couple good years with Crystal and Myleigh, and now they'd shown that they were still going to touch his life from time to time, with Crystal on the outs with her family, maybe even more than he'd expected. To be fair with Nicole, she had to know the baggage was there, and it might be better if she were friends with the two. All his better instincts told him to avoid it, but before the cigarette was half gone, he realized that he was just going to have to be honest with Nicole, whether they went to Florida or not. If she couldn't handle it, it was best that they know now, before there was any serious emotional investment in her.

But, telling her would still be awkward, and he spent the rest of the cigarette mentally trying out ways to approach her with it. No point in putting it off, he decided finally, and stubbed the cigarette out in the ashtray on the workbench. He went back inside and dialed the Szczerowski's -- God, how long had he known that number by heart? As it turned out, she was at home. "Nicole, something's come up," he said, "Maybe good news, maybe bad news. We've got to get together some place and talk."

"Not here," she said curiously. "My sister and brother are at home. Why don't you come by and pick me up?"

On the way over to Nicole's, he kept thinking about what to say, how to approach her. He hadn't made his mind up yet when he pulled up in her driveway. She had her coat on and was waiting for him, and came out of the house before he could get out of the car.

"What's up?" she said as she hopped in beside him.

There wasn't going to be any way out but straight ahead. "I just had a call from Myleigh and Crystal," he said.

"How's Myleigh doing?" she asked. "You haven't said anything about her since you got home."

"She's doing OK, I guess," Randy said, backing the car out into the street. "Crystal's having problems. She got home and broke up with her parents. She didn't say anything about it, but she didn't need to. Her sister came up to Northern last semester and tried to screw her way through the whole hockey team. Crystal spent the whole semester trying to keep her under control, with her dad on her ass about it all the time. I guess things blew up when she got home. Anyway, she's with Myleigh now. They're planning on heading to Florida, to that place I wanted to take you, and they asked if you'd like to come along."

"What?"

"I told them I'd talked to you about going there, and said you might be reluctant to spend a couple weeks with me."

"That wasn't it," Nicole frowned. "I just didn't know how to tell my parents. Believe me, it strikes me as better than sitting on my ass for the next three weeks."

"This might put a different spin on it," Randy suggested, realizing that this might be a little easier than he feared. "Going with a bunch of friends, I mean."

"Yeah," she said thoughtfully. "That does make it a little different." She thought for a moment, and then continued. "I guess I have to wonder about one thing. They're your friends, Randy. I know Myleigh a little, and she's a good person, we had a lot of fun on that trip we took last summer. But, I don't know Crystal at all, except what you and Myleigh told me about her. I'm afraid I'd be the outsider."

"It could happen," Randy said. This was something he hadn't considered. "But I think we can have a good time. If some problems come up, we'll just take off and go somewhere else. But, I don't think there'll be any problems. You know Myleigh. Crystal is good people, too."

"Randy, just how good a friends are these girls, anyway?" she frowned.

"Good friends," he admitted. "Damn good. As close as we were in high school."

"Are you saying that you've been in bed with them?"

Even though he was driving, he turned and looked at her. "I'd be a liar if I said I hadn't," he stated for what it was worth, expecting the worst. It was the first time he'd admitted it, outside the circle of Crystal, Myleigh, and himself.

"Both of them?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Not at the same time," he said, then turned his eyes back to the road. "But they both know about it. Like I said a long time ago, Nicole, we don't have many secrets. We all had an agreement to keep it off campus and not be blatant with each other about it."

"How in the world did you manage that?" she said. He stole a look at her; she was shaking her head in wonder.

"Long story," Randy admitted. "The bottom line is that it wouldn't have happened at all if any of us had thought that there was any chance that things might turn permanent. I told you last year that I'd marry either one of them if there was a chance they'd say yes. They know that. But the chances are even slimmer now than they were last year." Even as he said it, he wondered; the situation with Crystal and her parents might change things, but he knew she had plans. It was still a long shot and a long way off if it ever happened.

"I remember you saying that," she said. "I thought you were just talking."

"Does it bother you?" he asked. What had happened had happened, and he had to go forward from there. If it was without Nicole, so be it.

"No, not really, at least not now," she smiled. "You remember, we had a promise to not make promises. If that ever changes, then it would."

Up to this point, Randy hadn't been paying attention where he was driving, other than just down Lakeshore Drive, out along the lake toward Joe's house. He looked out at the shore of the lake, frozen now with the onset of winter, the ice bare of snow, but spotted with ice fishing shanties. "I remember," he said slowly. "Nicole, I will make you one promise. If the time comes that I make that promise to you, I'll have all the issues with Crystal and Myleigh cleared away. I thought they were already, and I guess they aren't."

"Good," she replied with a smile. "I can't ask for a whole lot more than that. I guess I'm not ready to make that promise yet, either."

"Do you have something going?" he asked.

"No," she said. "But I'm glad I didn't have to break a promise to you. Randy, I spent a weekend with a guy last fall. I was horny, he was horny, and the pieces fit. He isn't a guy I'd care to spend my life with, though. It was just convenient. But it means I don't have any room to complain about what you've done, either."

Randy was half surprised that Nicole's announcement relaxed him. He briefly thought about Crystal's telling him she'd spent a weekend with Gary last summer, and how it relieved him of a lot of guilt about his night with Nicole last winter. "I guess it's just as well that we didn't make any promises, then," he smiled.

"Do Myleigh and Crystal know you've been with me?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said. "To continue being honest, they don't know about Akinback Mountain last year, but I don't think it would matter if they did. I know Crystal has been with at least one other guy since. Myleigh, I doubt it, but if something came up, it'd be fine with me."

"Well, as long as we're all being honest," she laughed, "I take it you aren't planning any wild sex parties down in Florida then?"

"No," he told her with a grin. "Like I said, we've been pretty careful to not be blatant about it. Well, Myleigh caught Crystal and me one time, but that was back in the beginning. She teased the hell out of us, too. Since then, we all know what's going on, but we've rarely talked about it among the three of us, and then just about who's going to go where what weekend."

"Good grief," she smiled. "What a relationship."

"It's been strange," he admitted. "Fun, but strange. Anyway, if you go, it's going to have to be as just friends, like it'll be with them. I'll tell you right now, I plan on keeping my pants zipped when it's the four of us, like I would if it was just me and them. That's the way it has to be."

"All right," she said. "That doesn't mean we can't have some fun on the way down and on the way back, right?"

"On the way down, anyway," he said. "Part of the deal is that we'd have to take Myleigh back to Cornell."

"If we timed it right, maybe we could have a night on the way back, after we drop her off?"

"Don't see why not," he grinned.

"OK," she said. "Let's head back and I'll run it by Mom. We'll tell her that we're going to be with your friends. I really don't think she'll mind so long as it's a group. Mom can be pretty cool," Nicole smiled. "How about your folks?"

"No problem," he said. "I told them the first night I got home I was thinking of asking you to go to Florida with me, and they said it was fine with them so long as we keep it quiet. Let's face it Nicole, we aren't fooling anyone."

"I suppose not," she said thoughtfully. "But we have to at least look like we're trying to. Where did you say Crystal and Myleigh are from?"

"Myleigh is from Franklin," he replied. "Crystal is from Glen Ellyn, that's outside Chicago. But Myleigh hasn't lived in Franklin for years, and Crystal is on the outs with her parents, now. They're both in upstate New York, right now."

"Mom doesn't have to know that," Nicole grinned. "We'll just say we're going to meet them on the way."

~~~~~

"I can't believe it went that well," Randy said, still shaking his head as they walked into the Clark living room a few minutes later. School was still in session, and would be for another hour, and his dad would still be out at the plant, so he knew there'd be no one home.

"Like I said, Mom can be pretty cool," Nicole grinned. "Dad'll go along with her."

"OK, I better let Crystal and Myleigh know it's on," he said, flipping on the computer in the living room. His own was still in his room up on campus, but he could get to his e-mail account through this one. It took a couple minutes for the computer to boot up before Randy got online, pulled up his account, and sent a brief message: "I'm back now. Nicole is coming. Call me."

The computer was hooked to a separate phone line, a legacy of when Randy had two older sisters at home, but still, Randy was surprised when the phone beside the computer rang within a minute. "Wow, that was quick," he said to Nicole as he reached for the phone. "Clark's," he answered.

He was even more surprised to hear Karin on the other end of the line. "Randy, have you seen Crystal?" she asked.

"Not since Thursday, up in Marquette," he said, wondering how he was going to handle this. Probably the less said, the better.

"She said she was going to Myleigh's," Karin stated, sounding worried. "But I can't get an answer there. The phone either just rings, or it's busy. I thought you might know where she is."

"Sorry, I don't know," Randy said, almost honestly, remembering Myleigh's room. Crystal was probably either on the bed or in the overstuffed chair, but he wasn't sure which. "Is something the matter?"

"Yes," Karin said. "She and Pete got into a horrible fight over Nanci right after she got home, and she stormed out of here without saying anything."

"Is Pete going to be all right?" he asked. Crystal hadn't said anything about a fight, but if it got physical, he had no doubts about who would have won.

"He's still pretty angry . . . oh, you mean, did they hit each other? No, they just yelled at each other, and then Crystal stormed out. She was already packed to go, like she knew it was going to happen."

"She was pretty down about the whole thing all semester," Randy said slowly. "I can't say as it surprises me."

The computer beeped, and the words flashed up, "You have new mail." With his free hand, he clicked the "Enter" key, and the message came up: "Tried to call. Your line busy. – M."

"It shouldn't have surprised me either," Karin said as Randy stuck the phone under his head and turned to the keyboard to bat out a quick reply: "Karin just called." while he listened to Karin continue. "I know it wasn't Crystal's fault, but Pete doesn't see it that way."

"I heard about that," Randy temporized as he clicked on the "Send" button. "Nanci was looking for trouble and finding it all semester."

"I know that," Karin said. "But according to Nanci, it's all Crystal's fault. I know better, but he isn't listening. All Nanci will say is that Crystal never let her have any fun, and how hard she was on her. I don't even dare call from home, he's being such a pain in the ass about the whole thing."

"Maybe it'll blow over," Randy said, soothingly. He didn't know Karin very well, but that wasn't the kind of language she normally used. "Give it a while. Maybe after Nanci goes back, it'll be better."

"I hope it is," Karin said. "Look, I know you'll probably be talking to Crystal sooner or later. Would you please tell her to call me at work? I want her to know I still love her."

"I'll tell her if I get the chance," Randy replied. The chance was right under his fingertips, and he'd pass the word along in a few minutes, but it was pretty clear to him that he didn't want to get in the middle right now.

"Thanks, Randy," Karin said. "You and Myleigh are about the only hope I have. Tell Crystal I'm sorry this had to happen. She's hurt, Randy. Please help her if you can. I love her, but there's not much I can do for her right now."

"I sure will," he said. "Karin, hang in there. Crystal's not going to get into any trouble. She isn't that kind of person."

"I know, but I can't help but worry," she said. "She's my daughter, after all. Thanks for all you've done, Randy."

"I wish I could help," he said.

"I know you do. Just tell her if you get the chance."

"I sure will," he said as the computer beeped with a new mail message again. A couple of quick clicks with the mouse revealed, "Crystal says don't say anything – M."

"Take care, Randy, and thanks again," Karin said. The phone went dead in his ear. He hung it up, shaking his head. "Figures," he said.

"Trouble?" Nicole asked curiously from the armchair across the room.

""Not really, not for me, anyway," Randy said, turning to the computer, and quickly typing: "Didn't. She's gone now. Call." and sent it. "That was Crystal's mom," he explained. "She's worried. Apparently Crystal's dad is being a real jerk. I told you about that. I've met him; he's not an asshole or anything, but he's pretty grumpy at the best of times and is real sure he knows what he knows."

"Sounds like the definition of an asshole to me."

"Could be," Randy said sourly. "Nanci sure takes after him, anyway. Her brother's OK, just kind of a nerd. I guess her dad is sort of what a nerd gets like when they get old and grumpy. Damn, I should have seen this coming. Crystal did, I guess. She was pretty down all semester."

He started to say more, but the phone rang. He picked it up, to be greeted with Crystal's voice. "You didn't tell her anything, did you?"

"No, but just by the skin of my teeth," Randy said. "She asked if I'd seen you, and I told her not since Thursday. Crystal, look, she says she's sorry this happened, and she wants you to know she still loves you. She wants you to call her at work, since apparently your dad is still being an asshole."

"I don't know if I'm ready to talk to her, yet," Crystal said. "She got me pretty pissed off, too."

"Crystal, I know you well enough to know you've been pissed all semester," Randy said. "You've done a good job of holding it in. My advice is worth exactly nothing, but now that this happened you might want to give it some time to blow over."

"That's sort of what I figured," Crystal said. "Maybe after Nanci fucks up even worse without me around, Dad'll get the message."

"Look, your mom is pretty worried about you. Why don't you drop her a card and tell her you'll call when things have a chance to cool off? Mail it along the way somewhere," Randy suggested.

"Well, maybe," Crystal said. "I'll think about it. It's just that the way I feel about my parents right now is about the way Myleigh feels about hers. Anyway, that's enough of that," she continued. "Nicole's coming, right?"

"Yeah," Randy said. "She's here now, in case we have anything to work out. Look, a couple things we have to have clear, and I want to make sure everybody knows it. Is Myleigh on the line?"

"I'm here, Randy," Myleigh told him. "What's the problem?"

"One of them is that we use the same rules as always, it's just four of us, instead of three. The other big thing is that Nicole is concerned she's going to sort of be the outsider. We're not going to let that happen, are we?"

"No problem," Myleigh said. "Perhaps we should talk to her."

"I'll get her on the line," Randy said, pointing Nicole toward the phone in the kitchen. "OK, working out the details. There's no way in hell we can leave before Thursday morning, so depending on the weather and the traffic, it could be Friday night or Saturday morning before we get there. Nicole and I both need to be back on campus by the twelfth, so to go through Ithaca, it looks like leaving Buddha and Giselle's on the morning of the eighth, maybe sooner. That'll give us a day or so to get stuff shifted around after we get back. Does that work for you?"

"Could not be better," Myleigh said as Nicole picked up the line.

"Hi, Myleigh," Nicole said. "Look, this is all right with me if it's all right with you, but I don't want to be in the way."

"Nonsense, dear lass!" Myleigh laughed. "We shall be pleased to add you to the throng of Randy's admirers."

"I beat you to it by two or three years at least, I think," Nicole laughed. "Welcome aboard."

"Ah, yes, that's true, isn't it?" Myleigh laughed. "Nonetheless, we shall be happy to have you join us."

"Sure thing," Crystal added. "Remember, it's us against him, so it ought to be pretty even."

"All right," Nicole laughed. "I'm looking forward to it."

"OK, Randy," Crystal said, "A little administrivia. I've really only got camping gear for me. Can you get something for Myleigh and Nicole?"

"I've got a tent, sleeping bag, and stuff," Nicole said. "I do backpacking."

"With that, I've got enough for Myleigh," Randy said.

"That'll work," Crystal said. "We'll just have to work out something till you get there. Bring Myleigh's board, too."

"Bring your guitar," Myleigh added. "If there's enough room for the trip back, I shall bring Blue Beauty."

"I'll make sure there's room," Randy said.

"Biggest problem," Crystal said, "While you were gone earlier we called down and talked to Buddha. He says the water is running pretty cold down there for this time of year. Not what we Lake Superior surfers think of as cold, but not swimsuit warm, either. Buddha doesn't have a lot of rental wetsuits. Any chance you can scare up something for Myleigh and Nicole?"

"Ummmmm." Randy said as he thought. "I'll hit on Joe, maybe Rod, too. Joe's got so much kayaking shit stuffed into his garage there might be something. If not, I maybe have another idea or two. Myleigh, you'd be about a four regular, right?"

"That'd work," Myleigh said. "Four short would probably fit better. Something just a little small for you ought to be about right for me."

"OK, I'll cover the wetsuits one way or another, even if I have to hit on one of the jetski places," Randy said. "Did Buddha say what kind of temps they're getting down there?"

"Sixties and seventies in the day, fifties and forties at night," Crystal told him. "I'd say go a little warm if you can, especially for Myleigh."

"Shouldn't be a problem, I'll bring an extra sleeping bag," Randy said. "That about it?"

"Can't think of anything," Crystal said. "If we do, we'll call. We're going to blow out of here in the morning, I guess, and I want to set up a couple things for the trail, so we probably won't be to Buddha and Giselle's until after you leave."

"Check your e-mail before you leave," Randy suggested. "If there's any more questions, you can get back with us."

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